Chaz Bono wants to talk to Brad and Angelina about Shiloh

I love Chaz Bono! He is so cool and brave and such a formidable pioneer for gender-identity issues. I’m just a little concerned about his recent interview with E! News, where he told a reporter that he’d “love to talk to Brad and Angelina about Shiloh.” I’m certain Chaz has nothing but good intentions, but bringing such public attention to Shiloh’s sexuality/gender before Shiloh herself has grown and developed enough to do some self-evaluation could prove more detrimental than helpful.

I’m reminded of the ninth grade, when my butch lesbian gym teacher came up to me and suggested I join the gay-straight alliance (basically a homo club) that met once a week during lunch hour. At the time I was in the “bisexual phase” of coming out (the last stop before Raging ‘Moville), but had told only my close friends. The point is, even though my gym teacher meant no harm and probably saw a gay boy struggling to find himself and wanted to reach out to give him a place where he might feel less isolated, my face still turned crimson, and I wanted to die of embarrassment. I simply wasn’t ready. It was mortifying to me that a teacher would bring my sexuality to attention (even if it was the gay-straight alliance, she wasn’t going around asking all the straight kids to join), so ultimately, all she accomplished, despite her heart being in the right place, was to make me feel bad about myself.

I think what Shiloh needs is time and space to grow up to be the person she’s destined to be. She’s four years old! Let her pick her nose and eat it for a while before we start demanding that she figure out whether she wants to crunch on a cock or munch on a muff when she grows up. Maybe then Chaz will be the perfect influence for the young Jolie-Pitt. But let’s let her enjoy those tasty boogers for a while, shall we?

Chaz’s book Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, is in stores today.